Fire district equip. taxes

AN ACT Relating to creating a sales tax exemption for equipment 1
purchased by fire districts in rural counties; adding a new section 2
to chapter 82.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; 3
creating new sections; and providing an effective date.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that some fire 6
districts, especially those in rural counties, bear disproportionate 7
costs due to the expansive geographic area they must serve with a 8
sparsely populated tax base. It is the intent of the legislature to 9
reduce the costs for certain fire districts in rural counties by 10
exempting their purchases of equipment from sales and use taxes.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 82.08 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
(1) The tax imposed by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to the 14
purchase of any item of equipment by an eligible fire district 15
located in a rural county. 16
(2) In order to qualify for the exemption in this section, an 17
eligible fire district must apply to the department for a certificate 18
of exemption. 19
H-0231.1
HOUSE BILL 1047
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Dent, Griffey, Low, Shavers, Eslick, Orcutt,
Bronoske, Timmons, Rule, Nance, and Davis
Prefiled 12/11/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Finance.
p. 1 HB 1047
(3) The department must publish annually, by January 1st, a list 1
of eligible fire districts that qualify for the exemption in this 2
section. 3
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 4
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.5
(a) "Eligible fire district" means a fire district in which the 6
population of the district for that year as estimated by the office 7
of financial management does not exceed 10,000 persons.8
(b) "Equipment" means fire and emergency medical apparatus and 9
all other vehicles, machinery, and equipment necessary for the 10
prevention and suppression of fires, the providing of emergency 11
medical services, and the protection of life and property.12
(c) "Rural county" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 13
82.14.370. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 82.12 15
RCW to read as follows: 16
(1) The tax imposed by RCW 82.12.020 does not apply to the use of 17
any item of equipment that is purchased by an eligible fire district 18
located in a rural county. 19
(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply to this 20
section. 21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. RCW 82.32.805 and 82.32.808 do not apply 22
to this act.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act applies to purchases and uses 24
made on or after October 1, 2025.25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act takes effect October 1, 2025.26
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p. 2 HB 1047